Mansfield Women 58-12 Mellish

With last week’s defeat to league leaders Sheffield Tigers still fresh in the memory, Mansfield had a
quick opportunity to banish that ghost and solidify what has been a positive and successful season.

That they did with an impressive show of power and pace to register another high score against a spirited and resilient Mellish team. This fixture has provided some excellent games over the last few seasons and this was no different. Despite the scoreline, the home team spent periods of the second half defending and struggling to make field position. But for a few handling mistakes, the visitors could easily have upped their own score. However, Mansfield were more clinical in both attack and defence and claimed the victory.

Head coach Dave Woodcock was happy with the way his team bounced back, saying: “I thought it was a good overall performance today. We went looking for the edges and really tested their defence.”

As has been the case this season, Mansfield started brightly and managed to open up their scoring within the first 10 minutes. A characteristically bulldozing drive from Amy Marshall saw her crash through the opponents’ defence and put her team in the lead. The conversion was missed but the
blue-and-whites were ahead, 5-0.

The first half saw a steady progression of scores as the home team built their tally with regularity. They spun the ball wide in order to try and exploit the space available and kept it close with probing runs from around the ruck. To their credit, Mellish’s defence was strong and it was when Mansfield started to stretch the width of the game and put multiple phases together that the cracks started to appear.

A succession of penalties saw the home team able to carve out some territory, mostly through taking quick tap-and-goes and keeping the visitors moving. It was from one of these quick taps that Cat Chambers latched on to the ball and outsprinted the opposition to register the first of what would become a brace for her, adding to an already impressive try tally this season. A missed conversion
nevertheless saw the lead extend, 10-0.

Four more tries would round off an impressive first half, already securing the try bonus point. From the restart immediately after Chambers’ try, Millie Hemsley ended up with the ball. With just a mere 60 metre stretch of pitch in front of her, she put on the afterburners and evaded every potential tackler to dot down under the posts. A successful conversion by Laina Corah took the score to 17-0 and Mansfield were clicking as a unit.

The blue-and-whites’ ability to jink and jive around the defence of the visitors was evident for the next three tries. Chambers, adding her second, Pippa Wooley and Corah all making sure their dancing shoes were fully shined as they shook and shimmied around their opponents, showing moves Fred and Ginger would be proud of, to keep the scoreboard ticking over nicely. Wooley converted her own try to reach a half time tally of 34.

But the half wasn’t over. With some sustained possession of their own, and a devastatingly powerful scrum, the visitors were able to register their first score of the game. Being able to utilise multiple phases of good ball and having the benefit of the aforementioned juggernaut of a set piece, Mellish powered their way through to make sure they added something for their efforts. A missed conversion saw the half time score read 34-5.

While Mansfield did add to their tally in the second half, they found it harder than the first. Had Mellish regathered and been rejuvenated by their try? Had Mansfield taken their foot off the gas? Maybe a bit of both. Mellish were a nuisance in the loose, turning over ball and stopping the home team from making as many breaks through the middle. They scrambled exceptionally well, with special mention going to their full back who scythed anything and everything down, even those twice her size. The visitors enjoyed large bouts of possession while Mansfield had to defend well.

That said, Mellish just couldn’t get that final, crucial blow to land, agonisingly evading them at the last. They did, however, manage to add another try to their tally. A well worked series of phases saw them win a penalty in the home team’s danger zone. A quick tap caught the home defence while still unorganised and allowed the visitors to force their way to the line. A successful conversion bought their tally, and final total, to 12.

When the home team did gather possession and were able to put phases together, they did use it well. The overlaps out wide could still be utilised more often but when you have Lucy Payne gathering the ball 10 metres from the line, who needs overlaps? She barrelled through the defence and added her name to the score sheet. Power was followed by pace as Marie-Anne Battersby, benefitting from a stolen line out, showed a clean pair of heels, something she has enjoyed doing over the last few months, and raced 60 metres to keep that scoreboard moving. This, amongst just being a complete menace overall, helped bag Battersby the joint player of the match award.

Although not on the scoresheet, she was joined by Emily Bingley who has been a consistent performer his season, hard to contain and excellent to watch. If pace and power are not enough, a cohesive team score came next, Ffion Roberts triumphantly emerged from the bottom of a pile of bodies after multiple phases that spun one way and then the other. A final flourish of flair, fluidity and finesse finished off what had been a formidable display as Hannah Brereton divided the defence, dashing the remaining 40 metres to draw the scores to a close. With Corah converting both Battersby and Brereton’s tries, the final score read 58-12 to the blue-and-whites.

This was a well-gelled performance by Mansfield, akin to what we’ve seen previously this season. Mellish made them work hard for every point and, despite the scoreline, they can be proud of the endeavour they showed and their doggedness throughout. Aside from the scrum, which did equalise for periods in the second half, the blue-and-whites were able to find advantages in all areas of the game. While they will no doubt be disappointed that they couldn’t go unbeaten at home in the league for the whole season, Sheffield Tigers last week being their only hiccup, there should be immense pride in the squad as this final home game bought to an end an impressive run of victories.